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Consider it done Rob! The bowl of Capt. Crunch this morning is it for a while! If you are out there in blogger land leave a comment so the troops will begin to rally! Let’s get fired up and really get the ball rolling!

Our mission is big and sometimes when things are going well it’s easy to stand back and watch. We’re all in this together (sorry for the ‘High School Musical’ reference) and God wants to use each and every one of us to bring people to Him and to a closer walk with Him.

Let’s all of us committ the rest of this week to prayer and fasting and truly let God work in our hearts and minds so His will can be revealed to us. Let’s get fired up Southbrook, God is calling how are we going to answer?

I’m in.

I had my Bible Study group pray for the church last week and specificaly that you, Rod, would speak on Stewardship in some fashion more often. I know how you feel about it but it can be done.

Pastor Rob,

Count me in!

I can only imagine the burden you personaly and the other leaders of Southbrook are carrying with the decisions about the new building.

We all know the great saying from the movie filed of dreams “if you build it he / they will come…….” Southbrook is already proof of that. They just keep coming and coming and coming, like the Energizer Bunny on steroids and this is a GREAT GREAT THING.

“If you build it he / they will come” is the line most remember, but how about this next part “and they’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters”.

At Southbrook, the “game” is the worship of Jesus Christ people experience through the music and services. The “magic water” is when people come to know God through his Son. Following our acceptance of Christ we are Baptized in the water. There is no greater feeling on this earth!

How big do we build? No matter how big we build, they will come because as we are seeing, God is bringing them to Southbrook. (It has got to be God because the thought of Pastor Rob or Pastor Paul running around town in tights, playing a flute to lead them in, well that is just down right scary)

We are at the point that every Southbrook Member and all “Regular Attendees” have got to “Stop”, “Drop”, and “Pray” for guidance from God on how “We”, the people that call Southbrook our Home are going to make this happen. This is NOT just on the leadership of OUR church folks.

Ask yourself, what have I given so Southbrook can grow? Not just maintain, but G R O W!

It is going to take all of us and I mean ALL of us. EVERY person that has been to Southbrook and has come back again and again, knows how special this Church is, how God has blessed us with great leadership, music, members, volunteers, and most important, how GOD is making all that come together to help do his work so people can come to know him.

How many Churches do you think had over 100 people commit their lives to Christ this past weekend? We have friends in Churches where the total attendance was less than 50 people Easter Sunday and that was for the one and only service.

We are BIG, Our God is BIG, and we have got to Think BIG.

It is time to ask yourself, what have I given so that Southbrook can grow? (yes I said that twice)

Now we all know we all cannot run out today and write a check for $100,000. (I will admit it, I can not, wish I could) But with all the people we have at Southbrook, making this new building not just happen, but happen bigger and better than the original vision, should not be an issue. They key is, we all need to do what we can and now is that time.

When I told a “distant” family member that we had joined Southbrook Church they said “all they want is your money”. (they were speaking about Churches in general). Well for any of you that have been to Southbrook, you know this is one of the most NON in your face churches when it comes to giving. We do not pass the plate so some can sneak a peek at who is or is not giving, no embarrassing clink as someone drops in loose change, and no chance that someone will try and make change for a $20.00. (yea kinda stole that last one from Jeff Foxworthy).

What you give is between you and God and when you give you need to give from your heart and understand the lives that will continue to be changed by your giving.

A LOT of people read this BLOG. Every time I am in a group and people are asked if they read it, a LOT of hands go up. This week alone over 1,000 people have visited this BLOG. (don’t ask me how I know this) We have got to get the word out and we have got to be committed financially to the growth and the future of this extended part of our Family we call Southbrook.

We serve a great God and he can make great things happen though us.

Rob:
I think we need to coordinate some type of event. Maybe many individual events where people can have their own ‘bake sale’, ‘car wash’ whatever they want to do to raise extra money beyond their normal giving to give towards the start-up of a bigger building. The need is great, but we need to get people motivated to take a step forward and do something about it. Like Chris, I wish I could write a check for $100K, but I can’t. I can have a garage sale, or my kids can wash cars…there’s all sorts of fundraising ideas out there that people can get involved in.

But here’s what I think we could do on top of that. We need to coordinate these events, much like we prepared our hearts for the Clayton King weekend, we need to do the same for this. Instead of putting people on the light towers we need to have people put their fundraising project on the light tower and as a church we need to pray. I hope that I’m expressing myself clearly. We need to challenge our people who can’t give extra money to go out and raise extra money…does that make sense? They just might need a little direction or encouragement. It’s kinda grass roots, but the Bible is full of examples of God using the ‘little people’ to do great things.

Everyone reading this, start thinking about what you can do outside of your normal giving to raise money for this AWESOME work. A little sweat equity is needed here…as Ty Pennington would say…WE CAN DO IT!

JT’s post promted this thought in my mind that is just as funny when I envision it as it is a possible fun reality.

Every weekend all those cars that park down at the ball fields leave the lot covered in dust.

Can you see it now, an army of “Brookies” lined up in our parking lot making a “Human Drive Through Car Wash……”
(Following our designated parking lot traffic patten and keeping safety first of course)

Pre-Rinse Team, (Pull Forward Please)
Wash Team, (Pull Forward Please
Final Rinse Team (Pull Forward Please)
Dry Team, (Pull Forward Please)
Have Nice Day!

Yea it is just a car wash, but at least I am thinking in tems of BIG production line sized volume.

Get In Line, Get Clean, Get On Your Way, in this “I just have no time world….. but I do want a clean car..!”

Oh and here is a little information about Southbrook as we clean your car ;>)

Back home, our church was raising money to build a church. Hmmm, sounds familiar. Our pastor taught the Parable of the Talents. Then, he passed out envelopes. In each envelope was anywhere from $1.00 to $20.00. He asked us which servant would we be? Some people used the money to buy cookie supplies, and had a bake sale, others had a car wash. But it was cool to see all the different things people did. After 4 weeks, we all brought the money earned back to the church. It was a great lesson and a great fund raiser.

The church is Cornerstone Fellowship Church in Coatesville, PA. Chuck Jensen is the pastor. I’m sure he’d be able to tell you all the things we did.

Yes, build according to the plan God has. We will pray very earnestly for God to make His plan clear and the resources to make it possible. You have our prayers and support. We know that God IS WORKING at church, in our community, and in the hearts of many.

By the way, I heeded Adam and Kate’s wish and brought a family. God is good. Being honest, I peeked over to see the mom raise her hand for having prayed the sinner’s prayer. Yes!

Thanks for putting God first!

I am in awe and amazement about being a part of something big God is doing, but I believe we the membership are missing what God is wanting to do to our heart. We have the answer of how big we should build. It was called the response we gave to the coordinated effort the leadership presented us. They preached the series on money. They challenged us to give sacrificially and designated a weekend we were to make that offering. What did we tell them? We would like a bigger parking lot.

Read through the scriptures below; I pray we will be like the folks in Exodus “And so the people were restrained from bringing more”. We don’t need fund raisers; we need to be sacrificial mighty men and women of biblical proportions. If that happens bigger buildings will pale in comparison.

Exodus 35
4 Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 5 From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze; 6 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 7 ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; 8 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 9 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
20 Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. 22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or hides of sea cows brought them. 24 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. 25 Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun–blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. 26 And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.
Exodus 36
2 Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work 5 and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.” 6 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, 7 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

1 Chronicles 29:14
“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

1 Chronicles 29
17I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you.
18O Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.

2 Samuel 24:24
But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.

I don’t attend your church. I wish I had $100,000 to give you too as I see your vision, but I don’t. However, if you have 2400 people at a weekend service and each person gave an extra $5 that would be $12000. If they did it for a month that would be $48,000. Now I know all 2400 people won’t do it; however, most will give more than $5 extra.

I was at a church where we were facing the same delimias; personally I don’t have time to bake a batch of cookies that will cost me $10 by the time I bag them up and then the time to sell them, etc. But I was willing to write the check when faced with fundraisers or dig deeper.

We sold each person a chair for themselves and one for a family member to buy chairs for the worship center. But then one night God did something that we weren’t even thinking of when he had people bring their rings, their stock, their extra house on the lake, their etc. and give it so the church could build. People who said we don’t have it to give all the sudden had things (big things) they could sell and did.

I missed that service but because of the passion of the person that “shoulder tapped” me I took two gold rings I had and took them to the church the very next day. They were probably worth about $500 back then, but that was $500 I didn’t have in my checking account.

When you fundraise you are taking from your community and asking them to provide you with a building (that is my personal opinion). When Nehemiah rebuilt the temple he got supplies from the King. I would think the church should do the same.

Another option might be to start a satellite campus in a school or theatre with video feeds….just an idea.

What about a church plant? Is this something God wants for Southbrook?

I’m game for the Southbrook car wash/ bake sale or etc. I lost my job about a year ago and we are still trying to “catch up”. We gave our tax refund even though we had a bill show up for the exact amount of what our refund was. It wasn’t much but it was enough to pay off some of our present needs. I do not regret giving 1 cent of that money. I know God can use that money better than I can. I am willing Lord to give it all you just have to provide. I may not “see” it but Io don’t have to I know my God will provide it!

Ok i had a thought 2am Tues evening and had to get on the road to head up to NY to take the kids to Nana’s house so i haven’t had a chance to write it. A worship team benefit concert!???? I know I and other people would have no problem spending some money to see the worship team in action! I am sure we have enough teen population at our church to get their friends to go. Of course it is easy for me to type this idea because i do not know the work that would take for it to happen but I think we could sell tickets in our community to get some funds. i would have no problem passing out flyers in my neighborhood and we can bill it as a concert that you can go to as a FAMILY! How often do you hear that? It also would get Southbrook out there even more in the community and maybe get some people interested in coming in on Sunday…”heck, if the mousic is that good…how awesome the sermon must be??” (no pressure Rob).

So there is my idea!

[...] I know we have the right hearts here to see God do extraordinary things. All you have to do is read the comments after the “Is Our Faith Too Small” post to know that. You can read them here, http://www.robsingleton.net/?p=227#comments  [...]

Reading these responses, including my own, I have a tendency to agree that God does not want to see us do a bake sale, but rather He wants to do a work in our hearts. I know that I am sold on the vision but my hand is still on the purse strings. I have the feeling that God is asking for more from me and my family with finances, because it continues to be a major issue in my mind. I see the debt we have from college loans, two masters degree programs, credit cards, simply piurchases to “build” my own house, but I give little token offerings to build his. Sure, I gave what some would say is good size donation, but I have given away way more for my own house without a thought.

Again, I have this feeling that God wants my heart and my hands off of the purse strings. Joshua said that “as for he and his house, they would serve the Lord” and that is my desire. Now the rubber meet the road.